soulmates. [claudia kishi.]

kristy's great idea.

I WAS UP early today. I showered, practiced piano, recorded myself for fun. It was, like, 6 am. It was too early for school. I had enough time to procrastinate off school. Unfortunately, I was still bored.

I walked down the stairs, almost slipping again. What's up with the stairs, seriously? I'm even wearing sandals. I mentally cussed the stairs while walking down. I spot my godmother, eating popcorn on her couch. I decided to sit next to her, which made her spot me from her peripheral vision.

"How was your day, sweetie?" Tita Kath asked me. Both of us were at the living room, she was watching some random drama series on Netflix. I was beside her, hugging a pillow, scrolling through my phone on TikTok.

"It was alright." I replied nonchalantly, my attention still on my phone.

"Made any friends?" She popped a popcorn into her mouth. "Are they nice?"

I look back from yesterday. "Oh, uhm, yeah. They're nice."

"That's nice." She went back from watching TV and popping popcorn into her mouth. When I didn't reply anymore, she nudged me. "Well? Tell me more about them!"

"But you're watching--"

"I'm listening to you, baby. My eyes are just on the screen."

I sighed. "Their names are Claudia and Stacey. They're... okay. I guess. They have a great sense of fashion, and they're really nice. Not like people back in Arcadia, actually." I groaned at a bad memory back from Cali.

"What's this? You're socializing now? What a miracle." Amelia piped up from behind us.

"Shut up." I rolled my eyes, annoyed by her presence.

"You should be thanking me, not insulting me. You were a loner back in elementary! I let you hang out with my friends." She remarked. She sat down on the right side of Tita Kath.

"Whatever! I'm in 7th grade, I matured."

Amelia and Kath laughed at me, amused by my words. "Totally." Ame sarcastically replied. I sneered at her.

I went back to my phone, scrolling through my For you page until I noticed the time. 7:31 A.M. My eyes widened in a panic. "I'm late!" I shot up from the couch. I rushed to put on my shoes and grab my bag. "I need to go-- bye!"

"Hey, wait!" Kath stopped me. "Ame's taking you."

"What?"

"What?" Amelia was also surprised.

"Ame, come on. I'll give you my keys and you can go use it with your friends."

Amelia grinned at the compromise. "Okay, fine." She stood up, walking towards me with the keys. "Come on, let's go."

I scoffed and walked with her to the car.

★★★

IT WAS LUNCH. I was certainly hungry. I had my packed lunch in hand. I hear my name being called by someone familiar.

"Ava, over here!" Claudia raised her hand to get my attention, which she did. I approached her and sat across her, putting down my packed lunch at the table.

"Oh, your mom packed you lunch?" She asked, eyeing my lunch.

"Aunt, actually."

"Oh. Where's your mom then?"

"She's back at Cali. It's only just me, my sister, and my aunt." I answered with a shrug. I opened the box. Huh. Grilled cheese, pizza bagel, and apple slices. Aunt Kath's surprising me again. "Want some?" I offered her.